Baked Brie and Sun dried tomatoes

I love cheese! I'm not a cheese connaisseur, but i love most cheeses. If it's covered in cheese, i'll order it. My sister is not a big fan of cheese. When we used to make home-made pizza, there's would be 2/3 of it with a thick layer of cheese for my brother and I, and the other third would plain pepperoni.



A few years ago, my sister went to a friends place to hang out, and when she got home, she told me about a baked brie her friend made that was really good. And when my sister raved about it, I knew I had to try it. A few weeks after learning about this recipe, we made it for a holiday gathering and it was so good and so easy to make.



Last year, I introduced this recipe to Rach, and she introduced it to her parents. We are all hooked! Move over chips and dip, bring on the melty brie and bread!

• Any size Brie (Camembert works too)
• Sun fried tomatoes in oil

1. Preheat oven at 375F
2. Place brie wheel on a small casserol dish. Drizzle the oil from the Sun dried tomatoes on top and around the brie.
3. Bake for 20min. It will bloat and look like it'll explode.
4. Add Sundried tomatoes around the cheese, and bake another 5 minutes. Watch the tomatoes so they don't burn.
5. Remove from oven. Cut an X on the top and flip the flaps to make a "brie bowl".
6. Serve with sliced baguette, or crackers. Use a knife or spoon.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

The first time I ever had Jalapeno poppers was when Burger King had them. Not long after, they discontinued the item from their menu, but kept the mozzarella sticks...bad decision BK. I guess not many people can stomach spicy foods.

I have never attempted to make Jalapeno poppers before, seems like a lot of trouble. When I used to live with Rachelle, we'd sometimes indulge in a box of Jalapeno poppers from the frozen section of our local grocery store.

I was reading one of my regular food blogs one day and Kevin at
Closet Cooking had made a Jalapeno Popper Dip that sounded delicious. I saved the link into my favorites and forgot about it until months later. Rachelle had come all the way to my place one day and we decided to give the recipe a try.



1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (room temperature)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup cheddar cheese (grated) - we used mozzarella
1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano or parmesan
1 (4 ounce) can sliced jalapenos (pickled)
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano or parmesan

Directions:
1. Mix the cream cheese, mayonnaise, cheddar cheese, parmigiano reggiano and jalapenos in a bowl and pour into a baking dish.
2. Mix the panko bread crumbs and parmigiano reggiano and sprinkle over the dip.
3. Bake in a 375F oven until bubbling on the sides and golden brown on top, about 10-20 minutes.

This was so good and so easy! We toasted some pita bread in the oven and it was great. However, this recipe for 2 people is way too much. We both did not want dinner after this. If you're making this as an appetizer, i'd suggest you invite a few people over.

Puff Pastry Triangles

It was a lazy Sunday when I didn't know what to make for lunch. Kevin had some leftovers to eat and I didn't want to eat instant noodles again. I love instant noodles, but two days straight was a bit much. I'm not a student anymore. So I poked around the freezer and fridge and found a lot of leftovers; half a pack of puff pastry, leftover steak stir-fry, a few mushrooms, some cheese (cheddar, mozza, and feta). So I decided...why not have a meal of hors d'oeuvres. I've had more than my fair share of hors d'oeuvres at wedding cocktails before.

• Puff pastry (defrosted)
• cheese
• leftover steak or chicken cut into bite size strips
• mushroom

1. Preheat oven 400F
2. Cut puff pastry sheet into 9 squares, more if you want your hors d'oeuvres smaller.
3. Place meat, cheese, mushroom in the center
4. Fold the square diagonally and press on the edges. You can use an egg wash on the edge if you want to.
5. Bake until golden brown.

This is fool proof, unless you leave it in the oven and burn it to a crisp. You can mix up ingredients any way you want it. I actually had some chicken and dill as well. I ended up like the mushroom, mozza, and dill combo a lot. I also loved how crispy burned cheese that oozed out of the pastry. Yums!!! The options are endless.

Goat Cheese & Arugula Pizza

When I was younger, whenever my mom wasn't home to make dinner, we'd order pizza delivery at a local place. The pizza was always dripping in oil and full of cheese. I loved it, but then eventually got sick of it when I got older. When my sister lived in Toronto, I'd visit her every holiday I had from school and she'd always take me to the Pizza Pizza place close to her place. Back then, Pizza Pizza was not available in Quebec. Their pizza was delicious. I liked that they weren't dripping with cheese and oil.

But it was my trip to Quebec city with Kevin that made me fall in love with gourmet pizza. We went to this Italian restaurant right outside the walled city and it was the best pizza I have ever had.

When I get lazy, I make "fancy" pizza at home, It's fast to make. I had a bunch of arugula leaves in my fridge and some tomatoes. I hate how vegetables go bad so quickly. So I went out and bought some goat cheese and voila...


1 large pita bread
Pesto
Roma tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Arugula leaves
Goat Cheese
Olive oil
Pepper
lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Spread pesto all over one side of the pita.
3. Cut medallions of goat cheese and place them on the Pita. Or crumble goat cheese.
4. Add sliced Roma tomatoes, sprinkle minced garlic
5. Bake for about 10 minutes or until pita is crispy.
6. Chop arugula and mix a bit of olive oil, pepper, and lemon juice in it.
7. Take pizza out of oven, spread arugula on top. Enjoy!

When I make a veggie gourmet pizza, I often make a regular pepperoni with cheese one for Kevin. He sometimes complain when there's no meat in our dinner. However, when he had this, he said he liked it better than the pepperoni pizza. Victory! My only complaint about this is that it's not great to bring to lunch...unless you bake it again in a toaster oven at work. The pita gets really soggy.

La Banquise

I heard about La Banquise a few years ago. I'll guess and say 2-3 years. It's basically what people in Montreal call the best poutine in town. I don't really know about that. I love poutine and it's the ultimate comfort food for me. I usually like the poutine at La Belle Province, specifically the one on Peel st.


La Banquise is a 24hr place that you can go for the classic poutine or special poutine. Sounds great doesn't it? So as I was saying, when I first heard about it, I wanted to go. But it was a bit out of the way and when I meet friends for dinner, poutine is not always our first choice. La Banquise is noisy and more of a fast food joint. People don't really stay and talk for 2 hours after the meal.


When my friend Christina was visiting from TO, I saw this as an opportunity to go. I mean, we gotta show outsiders what real poutine is. :)

For my first Banquise experience, I decided to try one of their special poutines. I chose the B.O.M. poutine. It's the classic poutine with bacon, sautéed onions, and mergues sausage. It was delicious! Christina has the Matty Poutine; classic poutine with bacon, peppers, mushrooms and sauteed onions. Rachelle had the Poutine Chouxxx; classic poutine with coleslaw. We were all pretty satisfied with our choices.

They also have burgers and stuff like that, but we didn't pay any attention to them. The poutines come in 2 sizes. We all ordered the small size and it was a pretty good sized plate. We saw some people with the large size and it's a giant bowl. Potato coma! I'd definitely go again if i'm in the area, but wouldn't make a special trip there. I'm equally satisfied with greasy Belle Province poutine near my work.

La Banquise / 994 Rachel East, corner of Lafontaine Park in Montreal / 514.525.2415

http://www.restolabanquise.com/

Stuffed Peppers with Feta

Buying fresh vegetables is expensive, especially peppers. Green peppers are usually oh-kay...normal price at $2.99/lbs. Sometimes our local loblaws sell old peppers at 50%...some dont look too bad. They're usually starting to get wrinkly. They come a pbag of 4-5 and Kev and I always look for them. And sometimes we buy them even if we don't need peppers in the dishes on our weekly menu (every weekend, my homework is to make up the week's menu and grocery list). Last week, we looked in the fridge and found 4 peppers looking quite sad...they were in their last day or two. So we decided to make stuffed peppers. I've made stuffed peppers before. I can't remember what recipe I used, possibly from Kraft, and it was not very good. So I looked up a recipe on allrecipes.com and found a vegetarian stuffed pepper with feta cheese. Since Kevin likes to have meat, i added meat to the recipe.



1 cup water
1/2 cup uncooked Arborio rice
2 green bell peppers, halved and seeded
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 tomato, diced
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
ground beef

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Stir in the rice. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside.
3. Place the peppers cut-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Roast 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until tender and skin starts to brown.
4. While the peppers are roasting, heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the ground beef, onions, basil, Mrs Dash, salt, and pepper in oil for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato, and cook for 5 minutes. Spoon in the cooked rice, and stir until heated through.
5. Remove from heat, mix in the feta cheese, and spoon the mixture into the pepper halves.
   Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Serve immediately.
   

These were yummy. I would put more feta next time. I love it. For a cheaper version, you can also use any other cheese you have...like mozza or cheddar. I think i'd like this even more if it was red or yellow peppers. We each had one whole stuffed pepper and were quite full. We liked it so much we made it again about a week later, with 50% off red peppers! Yums!

"Throw Everything In" Pasta with Rosée sauce

You know that commercial for Olive Garden where the parents visit their daughter who is in college? And every time they visit, the parents take the daughter and her roommates to Olive Garden because they like to know that their daughter is "taken care of"...and she fake bumps her dad and says "Daddy!!!" and feels all embarassed. I've seen that commercial about a hundred times. One of the times we watched it, and actually paid attention to the food they were advertising. There was a dish with tomatoes and sausages and Kev said "Hmmmmm..." .I've never been to Olive Garden, since they do not have one in Quebec. People who have been tell me it's not that great, but why do they always look soo yummy? So on a weeknight, i decided to make pasta with tomatoes and sausages, but ended up tossing in pretty much everything I had in it. :)



Pasta, cooked al dente
1 can of diced tomato
brocoli florets
Any color pepper, I used yellow, chopped
4 Italian sausage, I like the spicy kind, casing removed
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 medium onion, chopped
chili pepper flakes and parmesan to taste
Pepper and salt

1. In a large skillet, cook sausages. Add peppers, brocoli, and onions. Cook a few minutes until peppers, brocoli, and onions are tender.
2. Drain the can of diced tomato, and add tomato to the skillet.
3. Add heavy cream and simmer until thick.
4. Add pepper and salt to taste.
5. Serve with parmesan and chili pepper flakes.
   

I'm a pasta lover...because it's carbs. I also especially love pasta with a creamy sauce, so there was no doubt that I would love this. This turned out to have a rosée sauce, it was creamy and yummy! Kevin liked it too. The thing with pasta with creamy sauces is that it makes me sleepy because it's such a heavy and comforting dish. I loved having a lot of vegetables in it.

Sweet Potato Poutine

Ahh Poutine! The ultimate comfort food. I've made poutine at home before, but I must admit that it wasn't from scratch. I used cubed mozza, frozen fries, and canned gravy. Sacrilege!!! I know. This is my very first time making everything from scratch...well...except the cheese curds. Those are store bought. lol

I got the idea to make poutine with sweet potato from Kevin at Closet Cooking. I get a lot of cooking ideas from him. He's very talented. For this recipe, I bought 2 huge sweet potatoes and I never knew how much sweet potatoes shrink when they cook... I also had a hard time cutting beautiful sweet potato wedges, so I had weird shapes. Wedges, strings, half moons...it was a circus of sweet potatoes. And sweet potatoes, especially the large variety, are extremely hard to cut. Kev saw how much trouble I was having and asked if i needed help. It didn't take him long to abandon me with the unfinished task.

Baked Sweet Potato Wedges

• sweet potatoes (cut into wedges lengthwise)
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven at 375F. Toss the sweet potato wedges in the oil, salt and pepper to coat.
2. Place the wedges on a baking sheet.
3. Bake until golden brown and tender, about 20-30 minutes.

For the Gravy:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce (optional)
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan.
2. Mix in the flour to make a roux.
3. Mix in the beef broth and simmer until thick and smooth.
4. Mix in the soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste.
   

Assemble: Place the sweet potato wedges in a bowl and top with the cheese curd, add gravy on top to melt cheese a bit.

Kev wasn't a huge fan of this because he's not a big fan of sweet potato. I love it. I kept tasting the gravy while it was simmering and I just kept adding pepper into it. The sauce ended up being spicy, which is a not a bad thing. The simple gravy recipe is also good with roast chicken.

Stuffed mushroom

This is probably the very first recipe I ever made. Some 10 years ago, my brother invited some friends over for a BBQ. His friend Amy (now one of my friends) brought stuffed mushrooms. apparently she didn't make enough because my brother only managed to save one for me. I absolutely loved it. I think it's safe to say that it was that recipe that made me fall in love with mushrooms. I asked my brother if she could share her recipe. I didn't quite remember the exact recipe, since I don't have the recipe with me now. But I made it by memory.


Originally I wanted to make this with giant portobello mushrooms, but my grocery store didn't have any in stock. So I bought giant white mushrooms. They weren't cheap. $3.99 for only 8. I could inhale 4 mushrooms in a minute. So I made the left over Potato, Spinach, Salmon Patties I had in the freezer.




Mushrooms
Cream Cheese
Breadcrumbs
Bacon bits
Salt & Pepper
Green Onions, minced

1. Preheat oven to 400. Wash the mushrooms and dry them with a paper towel.
2. Remove the stems and put aside.
3. Place the mushroom caps on a lined baking sheet.
4. Mince the mushroom stems. I only minced about half of the reserved stems and threw out the rest. You can save them for another recipe, like cream of mushroom soup.
5. On medium heat, sautee green onions in a little bit of butter. Add minced mushroom stems.
6. Add about half a package of cream cheese. Stir until melted and creamy.
7. Add salt and pepper or whatever other spices you like.
8. Take it off the heat source and mix in enough breadcrumbs until it soaks up most of the moisture and looks pasty.
9. Fill mushroom caps with the filling.
10. Dip the top of the filled caps with breadcrumbs
11. Bake 15 min

I love mushrooms, but I wasn't sure if Kevin would like this recipe. He's not a cheese fan and he doesn't love mushrooms. But he ended up liking this. He told me he liked trying the new stuff I make in the kitchen. :)

♥♥♥ Valentine's Day Dinner ♥♥♥

For Valentine's Day, we decided to stay home for dinner. We didn't feel like going to some fancy restaurant. So for weeks, I thought of what to make. I wanted something that we didn't have too often, but something that wouldn't take me forever to make. I originally wanted to buy filet mignon and make it at home, but was afraid i'd ruin a perfectly good piece of meat by not knowing what I was doing. I've never cooked steak. Usually Kevin grills it on the BBQ or he cooks it on the skillet. I'm not sure why...I asked Kev what he wanted for Vday dinner and he came up with the idea of making duck. I decided to make garlic snails and crème brulée french toast.

The idea of the snails came to me when I was at the dollarstore during lunch break. It amazes me all the things the store carries. I noticed escargots plates. So I did some research about how to prepare snails. To be honest, I didn't know where to get snails...when I read online that I could get them canned, I decided to give it a shot. Even if I knew where to find fresh snails, I probably wouldn't even know how to prepare them. So canned and pre-cooked snailed was the best. When I posted this picture on my facebook, I had a few people ask me if it was hard to make. And it wasn't, especially not with canned snails. It took me all of 12 minutes to make...where 10 minutes was in the oven.





1 can of giant snails
Shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
2-3 tsp garlic, minced
parsley flakes

1. Preheat oven to 350. Open can of snails and rinse under cold water. Drain and put aside.
2. On low heat, melt unsalted butter and add minced garlic
3. Add some parsley flakes in the garlic butter
4. Remove from heat source and toss snails in the garlic butter.
5. Place garlic on escargots plate and drizzle each snail with some of the garlic butter.
6. Cover plate with shredded cheese and bake for 10 min, until cheese is melted.

The result didn't quite look like what I expected it to be. I expected the cheese to be a bit browned, but it taste just like the restaurant. The canned snails didn't taste like it came from a can at all, and the snails really were giant! They were twice the size of the snails we usually get at restaurants. The can of snails was $1.99 for 14 snails. It's a great deal considering how much we pay for escargots gratinés when we eat out.

********************************

I've actually made this duck breast recipe before. Last year, Kev and I went to Knowlton for a weekend and they are known for their Lac Brome ducks. We had a nice package deal with the hotel that included a 3-course duck dinner with our choice of wine. After coming home from the weekending trip, we wanted more duck and I had found a recipe on their website. I will post here the original recipe from the site, with my corrections.

2 duck breasts (magrets), 18/20 size (1 package)
45 ml (3 tbsps.) each ~ honey and Dijon mustard
375 ml (1-½ cup) oil 1 Tbsp of oil
Salt and pepper to taste
5 ml (1 tsp.) curry
30 ml (2 tbsps.) green onions, finely chopped

1. With a sharp knife, score the breats in squares on the skin side. Set aside.
   In a bowl, mix the honey, mustard, curry, salt, pepper and onions.
2. Add oil and stir until it resembles a vinaigrette.
3. Put the breasts into the marinade and leave them in the refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours, turning them from time to time.
4. Remove breasts from marinade and sear them on the skin size on a very hot grill.
5. Finish cooking in the oven (350F) for 8 to 10 minutes until pink inside

The first time I made this, I followed the recipe exactly...with the 1 1/2 cup of OIL! I remember it being a complete mess when I seared the skin on a skillet. It was nasty and oily. This time I reduced the amount of oil by a lot. It was much better and less oily. Depending on the thickness of the duck breast, i'd suggest cutting your duck breast to see how rare the duck is. I baked mine for 10 minutes and it was still quite raw. I put it back in the oven for an addition 5 minutes for medium rare doneness. It was delicious. I boiled the remaining marinade and served it with the duck. I served these with simple roasted potato wedges (Preheat 400, season wedges with salt, pepper and olive oil. Bake for 30min)

*************************************

This recipe was found on allrecipes.com. However, I was greatly disappointed when I made this. Don't get me wrong, it ended up tasting quite good, but the preparation was annoying. The instruations given in the recipe were terrible. Luckily, I managed to save it and even had leftovers for the next day.

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
6 French bread
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon brandy-based orange liqueur (Grand Marnier®) -optional
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Mix in brown sugar and corn syrup, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Pour into a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Remove crusts from bread, and arrange in the baking dish in a single layer. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, half and half, vanilla extract, orange brandy, and salt. Pour over the bread. Cover, and chill at least 8 hours, or overnight one hour is enough.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Remove the dish from the refrigerator, and bring to room temperature. Place the bread on a baking sheet sugar side up.
4. Bake uncovered 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, until puffed and lightly browned.
   

Important notes i'd make for this is to make sure that the egg mixture only covers the bread. Discard the excess egg mixture or pour them in ramekins to make custard. I poured all the micture in and it was too much. My breads ended up floating to the top and the brown sugar mix would detach from the bread, that's why my bread doesn't look like creme brulee at all. I had followed the recipe instructions and after 35 minutes in the oven, it was still a soggy mess. I finally took it our and moved my soggy bread onto a baking sheet and baked it for an addition 15-20 minutes. They ended up being crispy on the outside, but fluffy in the center.

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's day with great food.

Mac & Cheese with Italian Sausage

So the stupid groundhogs announced that we won't be having an early spring. What a downer! This calls for some comfort food. When I used to live with Rachelle and we were both lazy and just not willing to learn to cook proper meals (I mean really...sometimes i'd eat a big bowl of cereal for dinner), we would make pasta with tons of vegetables (frozen, couldn't be bothered with fresh ones) and of course a lot of cheese. I'm really glad i'm only semi-lactose intolerant. Cheese has never had an effect on me...besides bliss. When Rachelle made Macaroni and Cheese, it gave me a big craving for it. I made mine with some leftover sausage we had in the freezer, which Kevin didn't like because they were "crazy" flavors.



2 cups macaroni pasta or fusili or any other pasta, cooked
cheddar cheese
1 cup of milk
2 italian sausages, casing removed
1 small onion
garlic
1 tbsp all purpose flour
salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 300. Cook pasta until al dente, drain and put aside
2. On a skillet, cook sausage, onion, and garlic.
3. Add milk and flour. Boil until thick
4. Add half of cheese. Mix in pasta. Add salt and pepper, if needed.
5. Put in an oven safe casserol dish. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.
6. Bake 20-30 min, until cheese is crispy and/or browned.

As you can see from my picture, I couldn't get the darned cheese to brown. I even switched my oven to broil. This is good, but I think I miss the medley of vegetables...This is an extremely easy recipe...you can't get it wrong. You can pretty much add anything you want. Rachelle liked to add a can of tuna or salmon in the mix. You can all any spices you want and many different kinds of cheeses. It's foolproof. Enjoy!

Beef Quesadilla

When it comes to cooking dinner, it's hard not to fall into a rut. You find a recipe you like and you make it over and over again, until you're so sick of it. I always try to have something new and if we like it, i put in the "vault". Kev's not much of an experimental eater, but he's been better. He now doesn't care what I make, as long as it's edible and not too weird. We usually do groceries during the weekend and we try to buy all the stuff we need for the entire week. So we have to decide what we want to eat over the week so we don't do 10 runs to the grocery store. Last week, Kev came up with the idea of making quesadilla. The only Mexican food we've ever made ourselves was fajitas, and I was getting so sick of the fajita seasoning mix you put in the meat. Sometimes, it give sme bad heartburn, so i wanted to stay away from it.



Most quesadilla recipes were for cheese quesadilla, but we wanted ground beef in it.





Tortilla
Ground beef
1 green pepper
salsa
Cheddar cheese
sour cream/ cream cheese
salt & pepper to taste

1. Cover baking sheet with parchment paper or foil (shiny side down). Preheat oven to 350F.


2. In a skillet, cook the ground beef and green peppers, drain. Add salt & pepper. Mix in Salsa.


3. Place one tortilla on the baking sheet, spread sour cream/cream cheese. Add a bit of cheese, then the beef mixture, and some more cheese. Drizzle water on a second tortilla and place second tortilla on top to make a tortilla "sandwich". Repeat with other tortillas.


4. Bake in oven for about 10 minutes. Let it cool for 5 min. Cut into 4 pieces and serve with guacomole.
   

We ran into several problems. We used foil on our baking sheets, but Kevin didn't know that the shiny side fo the foil should go down. So we had trouble removing the quesadilla. The tortillas were really stuck on the foil...the tortilla would break and the filling would spill out. We also did not let the quesadilla cool before tryign to remove them from the baking sheets. So the tortilla was probably too hot and soft to be moved. Our first quesadilla was a bit of a mess. But after it cooled, they were easy to handle and I was able to put them in our lunch boxes without making a mess. I'd make this again...and no heartburn.

Indian Feast: Introduction

For my 28th birthday weekend, Rachelle came over to my place and we had an indian inspired feast. We were in the kitchen for two and half hours just chopping, boiling, stirring, frying...It was exhausting, but the experience was memorable. We ran into a few speed bumps and resulted in a detour or two. Some things we cooked from scratch, some not so much...Here is a little photo collage of the food we did not make from scratch.

From top left (clockwise): Naan bread, Green peas and Paneer, Saffron Yellow rice, Papadums

We originally wanted to make home-made Naan bread, but decided it took too long since we had to let the yeast grow. So, we cheated and bought President's Choice Naan bread. Of course, we could have went to an indian restauarnt and get take-out Naan, but we were on foot.

The Green Peas and Paneer and the Saffron yellow rice are from Rachelle. She bought them on a recent trip to Ottawa. Both are pre-packaged. The GP & Paneer were microwaved...and tasted...like pre-packaged stuff. It wasn't aweful, but not good. The Paneer was mushy and tasteless, the peas were...well...I hate peas. I guess if you were incredibly desperate for some Paneer, these would be alright. The Saffron rice was a tad salty and even too mushy. Rachelle had followed the cooking directions on the bag. They were also not terrible, but not great either.

The papadums I bought pre-packaged. I had bought them when Kev and I were having butter chicken for dinner one night and I thought I could just tear the package open and eat the papadums. I should have read the instructions and realized that they were not ready-to-eat, I had to fry them in oil. It's important to mention that I have never, never, NEVER fried anything in my life. I hate the smell of oil in the house. Even when a recipes asks me to pan-fry, i almost always bake it instead. So to have the papadums, I gave in and decided to heat up a pot of oil. Rachelle and I were very afraid of getting burned. The papadums took no time to fry and they were yummy...despite the oiliness.

Things we made from scratch (posts coming soon)

• Sweet Potato Samosa
• Vegetable Masala
• Rainbow trout with Coconut-Curry Beurre Blanc
• Desert: Chocolate Soufflé with Gooey Center
• (Rachelle made Baked apple, which she will blog)
  

India meets Lebanon?

Okay, here's the deal...we've gotten a lot of snow in Montreal. I'm not going out in the snow to the grocery store...even if it's only 10 min walk away. I have some leftover naan and no butter chicken left. What do I do? I recently discovered a Lebanese pastry called Manakish or Manaeesh (please correct me if i'm wrong). It consists of dough topped with cheese or thyme or ground meat, but used widely in many Levantine countries. Similar to a pizza, it can be sliced or folded, and it can either be served for breakfast or lunch. The classic Manakish is with za'atar. It is a mixture of herbs and spices used as a condiment with Middle Eastern origins. Za'atar is generally prepared using ground dried thyme, oregano, marjoram, or some combination thereof, mixed with toasted sesame seeds, and salt. Some varieties may add savory, cumin, coriander, or fennel seed. A Lebanese variety of Za'atar usually contains sumac berries, and has a distinct dark red color. Recipes I found online for Za'atar consists mainly of marjoram, thyme and toasted sesame seeds. I don't have marjoram or sesame seeds at home. So I had to improvise with what I had to finish off the leftovers, which also included half a tomato.







Naan bread (store bought)
cheddar cheese
thyme
garlic salt
dried onion flakes
Sliced tomatoes

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Sprinkle garlic salt on Naan bread. Add tomato slices, sprinkle dried onion flakes and thyme. Add cheese and finally another sprinkle of thyme. bake about 10-15 minutes until cheese has melted and browned. Serve hot.

I thought this was a pretty good lunch. It was filling. If my work had a toaster oven, i'd make this for lunch. I loved the bits with the dried onion flakes...

Chunky Cream of Potato Soup

I'm carb queen. I'm pretty sure that if I gave up carbs, i'd lose a lot of weight, however, I just love carbs too much...One of the ultimate comfort foods for me is a nice bowl of potato soup. It's just sinful. One of my favorite places to have potato soup is at Baton Rouge. Last week, when Kev and I were trying to decide what to have for supper, I had suggested a soup dinner. Kev was hesitant because he was afraid it wouldn't be filling. Potato soup is extrememly filling. I just had this for lunch in a tupperware of about 2 cups of soup and i'm about to fall into a coma. I can hardly eat the celery sticks i brought in. Finally, that night, we didn't have soup dinner. we had steak. So the other night I decided to make it while he had his leftover char siu from Chinatown. I found the original recipe online, but tweeked it a little. This is the first time i've made my own potato soup.

4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 1/2 cup of water
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 small carrot, chopped
2 garlic bulbs
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons butter, cubed
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups milk/half & half/ cream
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley/ dried parsley
3/4 teaspoon salt (more if needed)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
dash of garlic powder
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese / cheddar
bacon bits (optional)

1. In a large saucepan, combine the potatoes, onion, carrot, celery and broth + water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender; lightly mash.
2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt butter; stir in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir into potato mixture. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add parsley, thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Remove from the heat; stir in cheese until melted. Add bacon optional.

When I made the recipe, I only had one can of chicken broth in the pantry. It's about a bit over a cup of liquids. So I topped the required 1 1/2 cup of chicken broth with water, but the liquids hardly covered the vegetables that need to be tender enough to mash. So I added an extra cup and half. Knowing this would make the soup more bland, I had to add more salt. At this point, it's taste over health. I'll try a healthier version of this soup on my second try. I added dried thyme to the recipe for more taste and a dash of garlic powder. I also chopped some garlic and probably added more celery than needed. The result was absolutely delicious. I had co-wrokers try my soup and one said it's restaurant quality and another said i should open my own restaurant. LOL I'll call it Carb City. LOL

Aged Cheddar

I'm a big cheese fiend. Kevin not so much. I think that's one thing I miss most about not living with Rachelle anymore. She's a cheese fiend as well. We always had cheese in our fridge. During my 2 years living with Rachelle, I went through several cheese phases. At one point, I was obsessed with swiss cheese. Then I fell in love with Goat cheese for some reason. Lately, i've had a growing affection for aged cheddar.

The first time I knew I had aged cheese was when Rachelle invited me to a marketing party hosted by one of advertising companies ourcompany deals with. They had plates of cheese on the table and one of aged cheddar. Rachelle exclaimed that she did not like it and when i had it, all i could think was how strong it was. Not the kind of cheese you just pop into your mouth.

I didn't think to try it again until Kevin told me he had aged cheddar with some pasta at his friend's place. When Kevin made his bowtie pasta with peppers, i bought a small block of aged cheddar. I was a bit overwhelmed with the choice. Aged 1 year, 3 years, 5 years...not to mention all the different brands. I finally settled with Canadian Reserve Agropur 5 year aged cheddar. I went for the most mature cheese they had because I didn't want to end up with something that tastes almost like the regular cheddar cheese we have. The more aged, the more pungent, crumbly, and acidic the cheese is. The agropur website states that the 5 year aged cheddar is not available in the UK...I wonder why?

The aged cheddar went great with Kevin's pasta. Kev didn't try any with his pasta. He says he doesn't like mixing cheese in his food. But he cut himself a piece after dinner and made a face when he ate it. "Why is it crunchy?" I actually noticed it too, but I remember noticing this kind of crunchiness from other cheeses i've had in the past. So I decided to do some research. The following is what I found:

Those bits are called tyrosine, and they're actually amino acid clusters that form with age. Tyrosine clusters are signs of a well-aged cheese, which is why you'll find them in some of the world's most loved cheeses like Parmigiano Reggiano, aged goudas, and mountain cheeses like gruyere.

Tyrosine is a non-essential amino acid found mainly in casein, the dominant protein found in milk. The word itself is from the Greek tyros, meaning cheese. What's most fascinating (from a dorky cheese fanatic perspective) is the reason that these protein clusters form.
When cheese is made, fats and proteins are trapped within chains of proteins that have bonded together during acidification. Groupings of these fats and proteins make up the solids, or curds, that form cheese. When cheese spends a long time aging, these protein chains begin to unravel, leaving small, crunchy deposits behind.

Tyrosine lends a distinctive textural charm to cheese, and is a welcome interruption within the body of an otherwise smooth paste. And sometimes it even compliments the beverage you may be drinking with your cheese, as in the case of pairing a full-bodied stout with a super-aged cheddar; the crunchiness of the cheese somehow matches the fullness of the beer by contributing its own textural intensity.

Tyrosine is not to be confused with the crunchiness you can find in some washed-rind cheeses. Since this category of cheese is usually washed in some kind of salt water brine, residual salt crystals are often left behind on the crust of these cheeses. When you take a bite of rind and inner paste together, the crunchiness from the outside can be mistaken for existing on the inside.Now go and impress your cheese-loving friends with your new vocabulary word!

Source: http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/the-cheesemonger/the-cheesemonger-a-bit-of-crunch-in-your-cheese-047988

Carb-fest: potatoes

Kevin and I had half a sack of red potatoes in the fridge that were starting to...not look too good. There's really only one way we eat potatoes on a regular basis: mashed. But we don't have mashed potatoes very often either...we have it occasionally when we have ribs. So I had to find a way to use up all the potatoes or count our losses. Being someone who doesn't like to waste, I wouldn't let Kevin throw away good potatoes...the term "good" used loosely. The potatoes were starting to look pretty damn sad.

So, when Kevin was out with friends the other night, I got to work. I decided to make two dishes, because it seemed like a lot of potatoes to make just one. I decided on making Kevin's aunt Sherry's scalloped potatoes, and dill potato salad.




Scalloped Potatoes

• Potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
• thinly sliced onions, then chopped
• grated mild cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper
• parsley flakes
• cayenne pepper
• garlic powder
  

1. Preheat over to 400 F degree.


2. In a baking dish, drizzle olive oil. Make one layer of potatoes, sprinkle all spices, one layer of onions, one layer of cheese. Repeat layers if you wish.


3. For each layer, you should bake in the over for 20 minutes. I did two layer, baked for 40 minutes. Some ovens run high, please check on your potatoes, it might be burning.

Creamy Dill Potato Salad

• Potatoes cubed
• dill weeds, chopped
• Plain Yogurt
• garlic salt
• cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper
• green onions/shallots chopped
• onions, chopped into small pieces
• dried Thyme
• 1 hard boiled egg, chopped

1. Boil potatoes until tender
2. Boil one egg
3. Once done and drained, mix potatoes with all ingredient. Chill in the fridge and serve. Voila! Facile non?

For the Creamy dill potato salad, there's no measurements. Use your best judgment...don't overload on onions and shallots. Be generous with spices. I was quite happy to receive a few compliments about my Creamy dill potato salad. I had no recipe for it. I just used whatever I had. I had planned on using mayo, but decided to use up my plain yogurt and it worked out well. I'll admit I wasn't too sure about it.

Make-your-own Pizza night

Over the weekend, I felt a little lazy thinking up what to cook. My co-worker had previously told me about his homemade pizza nights he has with his wife. They would buy pre-made pizza pie crusts, buy the ingredients they want and then make their own. So I suggested it to Kev, and he said ok. Preparing the ingredients took the longest...grating cheese, cutting veggies...

We bought a pack of thin-crust pizza by Ziggy. It came with two packets of tomato sauce. But I'd suggest getting canned or jarred pizza sauce. Ziggy missed the boat on pizza sauce. Kevin didn't quite mind it, his complaint was that he used too much. He used both packets, since I wanted Pesto as my pizza sauce.

Kevin's pizza consisted of sliced pepporoni, sliced onions, sliced green peppers, and cheddar cheese. We had a block of cheddar cheese left over from making scalloped potatoes a few days ago. I had asked him if he wanted to buy mozzarella, but since we don't finish cheese very quickly, we didn't want to have too many leftover in the fridge and go moldy. (This is odd to me, because cheese in the fridge at my old place with rachelle would be eaten within a week...we love cheese). Kev also wanted sausage or beef on his pizza, but thought it was too much trouble to prepare.

My pizza has a slightly nicer presentation I guess. Since I don't eat veggies enough, I was craving a veggy pizza. With the pesto base sauce, I added sliced onions, sun-dried tomatoes, sliced tomatoes, chopped green peppers, and goat cheese. Goat cheese is my new cheese obsession. My last one was swiss cheese. I find it funny that I like goat cheese, because i don't eat goat meat or lamb. I also bought frozen chopped spinach, but then forgot to add it onto my pizza. Kevin tasted my pizza and admitted it was yummier than his own. Victory! lol

I'd definitely have another make-your-own pizza night, but i think I will make Kevin's pizza for him.

Philly Steak Sandwich

The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach…especially if meat is involved. To be quite honest, I’m more of a poultry kind of gal. Chicken, turkey, duck, quail…yummy. But ever since judyfoodie told me how to tenderize my meat with baking soda, I like cooking and eating beef a little more. One of the recipes Kev likes is the Philly Steak sandwich. I’ve never had an authentic Philly steak sandwich, so I’m not quite sure if this recipe I got online is anything close to the real thing. But it sure makes my man happy. The original recipe is here.

• 1 pound beef sirloin, cut into thin 2 inch strips
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 bell pepper, julienned, whatever color you have
• Swiss cheese, sliced
• 4 hoagie rolls, split lengthwise or any type of bread
  

1. Place the beef in a large bowl. Mix baking soda in the meat to tenderize. Rinse meat with cold water after 20 minutes.


2. Mix meat with salt, pepper, paprika, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and basil. Let it marinate overnight if you have time.


3. In a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Saute beef to desired doneness, and remove from pan. Saute the onion and green pepper.


4. Preheat oven on broiler setting.


5. Divide the meat between the bottoms of 4 rolls, layer with onion and green pepper, then top with sliced cheese. Place on cookie sheet, and broil until cheese is melted. Cover with tops of rolls, and serve.

I omitted dried thyme and dried marjoram from the original recipe just because I didn’t have any on hand. I know, we need a spice rack. I also omitted the oil. Since we use a non-stick skillet, I didn’t think oil was needed. This time I got a bit lazy and my beef strips were a bit too big. But other than that, it was yummy. The more cheese the better!

I promise i'll eventually start writing blogs that are not food related soon. I just haven't been quite inspired lately.